Senators applaud LPS for literacy curriculum

Two state senators visited LPS elementary schools on Dec. 13 to learn more about how the district teaches literacy, their final stops on a statewide fact-finding tour of classrooms. By the end of the day, Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks of Lincoln and Lou Ann Linehan of Omaha praised LPS for its comprehensive and innovative literacy curriculum.

"This tour helped confirm what I already knew - that Lincoln Public Schools has some of the finest teachers around,” said Pansing Brooks. “These teachers continue to find creative and innovative ways to educate our youth, and in turn, create a brighter future for all of us. I am incredibly proud of the work they are doing, and will continue to support our fabulous educators and public schools throughout my time in the Legislature."

The senators, both members of the Legislature’s Education Committee, visited reading classrooms at Elliott, Randolph and Wysong elementary schools.

“What we just saw - amazing,” said Linehan after their Elliott visit, later adding: “It’s clear this district is using best practices. Now we just need to make sure everyone else is.”

The senators visited a combination of kindergarten, first- and second-grade classrooms on Wednesday. They spoke with teachers and LPS administrators about the many strategies and support systems used in district classrooms across Lincoln, including:

• “Reading Recovery,” which is utilized in all first-grade classrooms to support struggling students.
• McGraw-Hill Reading Wonders, which is the district’s core curriculum. Wonders includes daily phonemic awareness instruction in kindergarten and first grade. Wonders also includes daily systematic and explicit phonics instruction.
• Guided reading instruction in small groups. These daily lessons are tailored to the specific needs of the students in the group.

The senators’ visit to LPS wrapped up a tour that included stops in five other cities. It’s all part of an interim study examining how schools teach literacy, as well as issues surrounding students with dyslexia. Both senators said their findings could contribute to legislation introduced during the upcoming Unicameral session, which begins Jan. 3.

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